The subject invention relates to document and data processing and handling systems and, more specifically, to methods and apparatus for processing interrelated papers and documents, and to document or sheet transports.
Over the years, there has been an increasing need for more efficient document processing systems.
By way of example and not by way of limitation, there are many labor-intensive situations where payment checks and returned invoice stubs have to be processed jointly, such as for the purpose of verifying and recording payment by customers of public utilities, financial institutions and other enterprises.
In such instances, the particular institution or business carries a high obligation to make sure that each payment check is properly correlated with the corresponding returned invoice stub, and that each paying customer is properly credited for payment made. In short, utmost care has to be exercised to avoid embarassing and damaging instances of erroneous payment entries and spurious charges of underpayment.
Existing systems still place a large burden on the operator in this respect, in failing to make his or her job convenient and reasonably failure proof to an extend of rendering negligible all probability of error.